Giving away free land to entice people to settle an area dates back many years and now the time has come to o it in the Victorian town of Avoca.
Far from it being a free for all, this is quite literally a raffle.
The rest of the blocks are as cheap as $20,000 with the aim to get city folk from all over Australia, to start thinking about a "tree change", a sea change minus the beach.
Mayor David Clarke said the land giveaway is actually a combined effort by three councils in the Grampian Pyrenees area: Northern Grampian, Ararat Rural Shire and Pyrenees Shire.
"We want anyone who can basically come here and enjoy the area," he said.
Already, without the promise of a free block of land, plenty of city slickers are opting for tall timber over office towers.
Sam and Donna Young both had high paying jobs in Melbourne, Sam in Information Technology and Donna as a Graphic Designer, but while they were well paid they still could not afford to buy a house.
On top of that they had spent half their lives in the car.
Now the commute time to work is 15 seconds, the time it takes to walk to the study in their back room, where Sam runs his IT business and Donna her graphic design business.
"It's just been amazing," the couple said.
"We've got so much room to move now we're on 150 acres of bush with a four bedroom house."
And instead of commuting for two hours a day, now when Sam knocks off he fly fishes in the dam, which he has stocked with trout, right in front of his house.
"We found the city just too frenetic in the end and we decided we wanted to move to the country," he said.
And it is not just the young migrating to the bush.
Van and Ruth Spargo bought an old sheep property about five years ago and are slowly turning it into an olive and lavender farm.
It is the produce they intend to sell in the gift shop they have just opened in town.
"Everyone is so friendly," said Ruth.
And after just a few years, both couples said they will never be going back to the big smoke.
If David Clarke and colleagues have any say in it, more people will be seeing big cities get smaller.
"We're sure if people have a look, they will want to move to this region," he said.

Found this and thought you might find this interesting.

Some people don't believe there is any Desert Land Still Available For FREE.They are wrong. There is still some available.Certain restrictions do apply. For example: You must be a resident in one of these states where the desert land is available ... Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming. No State residency is required in the State of NevadaThe Desert Land Act was passed specifically to encourage the economic development of arid and semi-arid public lands of the Western United States. You may apply for one or more tracts of land totaling no more than 320 acres. Individuals may apply for a desert-land entry to reclaim, irrigate, and cultivate arid and semiarid public lands. You'd better take note before heading off across the landscape, most of the suitable lands for agricultural development have already been placed into private ownership. The remaining acres are managed for multiple uses. There is fierce competition among users for these public lands. Along with the problems of finding suitable public land, you can expect to find limited water available for irrigation, and an extremely high cost of development. On top of that, it is extremely difficult to acquire a desert land entry. But, and this is a big but, you can turn the land into very high cash value property. Just for an example, worhtless land I walked over as a child was worth thousands of dollars per acre by the time I was grown. What made the difference? It was mostly natural population expansion and highways coming through. There are other ways to improve the land.. #1, cash crops that thrive in the desert, like the jo-joba bean plant. Then there are plants that should be cash crops like your mesquite beans and cactus pears. Given just a tad of water in dry years mesquite beans are sweet and delicious. In two years out of five the tree doesn't even need the tad of water. Cactus pears and cactus pads are becoming more acceptable to American palates all the time. #2, Get your land first, then you could be the one that convinces Congress to pipe ocean water back up along the Gila River Bed and create ocean front property all along the way with dams like the one at Painted Rock.
With huge surges of population growth in the States of Utah, Idaho and Montana Congress could see the wisdom of diverting streams of fresh water down into areas now called arid. The only railroad left in the United States that is making a profit is the Union Pacific. By issuing contracts for trainloads of ice to be delivered to reservoirs in these regions. Where could the ice come from? Tugging ice bergs to Washington and Oregon for loading. When you import water into the area in front of the Rocky Mountains Congress will increase the flow of rain and moisture in this area.Before you can claim any of these lands you must prove they are unreserved, unappropriated, non-mineral, non-timber, AND incapable of producing an agricultural crop without irrigation. There is an addendum to that criteria.. the lands you want must be The lands must be more suitable for agricultural purposes than for any other. Boy, what a tall order. But I've had friends do it and they cvouldn't be happier. After you find them, these properties must be surveyed. If you get more than one tract of land they must be sufficiently close to each other that the BLM will be foreced to believe you can manage tgen satisfactorily as an economic unit.To apply for your land you must be a citizen of the United States or at least have declared your intention to become a citizen. Being an illegal alien is not good enough at this time. Oh yes, you must also be more than 20 years old.The BLM estimates that a 320-acre tract of land will cost you in excess of $250,000 to construct the irrigation system and prepare the land for cultivation. That's because they are thinking too big. The government thinks square fields -- I invite you to think about farming within the natural barriers the land provides. It is said that a tourist looks at the (desert) scene and sees what is left while a geologist sees that scene and studies what is gone I want you to look for pressure points where the lay of the land tries to rise, and strategic points where the flow wants to escape and just a little effort can make a major difference. If you think NATURAL PLATEAU farming you can take a dozer in there and follow the contours of the land to produce plateaus of small acreage, five acres here, twenty there -- that with just a little bit of earth moving can be prepared to produce a crop on a plateau. Those plateaus don't have to be the same size, or even go in the same direction either. The last piece of land I leveled this way was only 19 acres altogether and it had huge ravines running through it in every direction. Using a dozer and pulling a land plane™ behind me I leveled that ground to farmable smoothness in less than one day, but it was in three plateaus which fed each other and the last plateau drained to the middle and ran out from the middle between plateaus three and one. No, it wasn't conventional, but it worked.Remember too that the term "agriculture" includes animal husbandry. Instead of bringing in holsteins or thoroughbreds, bring in MINIATURE horses, miniature donkeys and even goats. These can be easy maintenance, high value "crops." Again, look for strategic points where the flow wants to escape and with just a little effort you can dam up natural outlets to create your own reservoirs for your stock, and you will only need to haul in a minimum amount of hay and water to sustain your animals.After you have found lands that you feel can be economically developed you'll have to determine the legal land description. Then you contact the BLM State Office where the lands are located and have them verify that the lands are available for desert land application. Next you must acquire an application from the State Office and also find out which BLM District administers the lands.The application form you want to use is No. 2520-1. Two copies are required. File your application with the administering BLM District Office.In the application you will include the description of the lands. You must include evidence of your legal right to the use of any water for irrigation. That means you must secure a permit from the State Department of Water Administration to explain where your water is coming from. You must include a detailed description of soil characteristics, irrigation requirements, and economic feasibility. Here's the worst part of it.. You must include full disclosure of your plans, arrangements--financial and otherwise--pertaining to the development and operation of your desert-land entry. Your application must be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of $15.00 and a partial payment of 25 cents per acre.The BLM will approve your application if it decides the lands are classified suitable for desert-land entry. The BLM will reject your application if it decides the lands are classified unsuitable for desert-land entry.After your application is approved you have four years to develop an adequate water supply to reclaim, irrigate, and cultivate all of the lands. At least one eighth of the land applied for must be properly cultivated and irrigated by the end of those four years. Each year for three years from the date your application is approved, you must account for the money you spend on improvements to reclaim, irrigate, and cultivate the lands.You must submit statements of two credible witnesses who can testify to the expenditures made for improvements on your desert-land entry during the preceding year. You must submit itemized statements showing the manner in which the expenditures were made. At the end of the third year you must submit a map or plan showing the character and extent of the improvements placed on the desert-land entry.Under no normal circumstances will the BLM extend your time to meet the annual proof of compliance. To wit: the BLM will cancel your entry.There is an out for some of these problems; a group of applicants can band together to develop a common water delivery system and share in the cost of a common water delivery system to reclaim the land parcels. The group as a whole must show that each individual desert-land entry involved in a group proposal is economically and physically feasible.Before you get your title the BLM will conduct an on-site examination of your desert-land entry to determine whether the requirements of the act have been met. If you meet the final proof requirement, you will receive a patent from the BLM which delivers a completely legal title to the land tracts into your hands. Your FREE land is now YOURS!

Interesting

Fred Sanford made $7000.00 in 1973: $4000.00 in the junk business and $3000.00 social security. That same $7000.00 today would be a bit over $32,000.00 Fred and Lamont lived in Watts, Ca. A $360,000 home in Watts today would be $64,000.00 in 1973 dollars. I know interest rates were very high - so this junk man was not doing bad for never really having any customers. I'm still wondering what they sold for $4000.00

The Road To Free Land
March 18th, 2007 by The Land Man · 2 Cooments
Why would you buy land when you can get it for free?
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Anderson, a little town in Alaska’s interior, has no gas station, no grocery store and no traffic lights, but it does have plenty of woodsy land — and it’s free to anyone willing to put down roots in the often-frozen ground.
In a modern twist on the homesteading movement that populated the Plains in the 1800s, the community of 300 people is offering 26 large lots on spruce-covered land in a part of Alaska that has spectacular views of the Northern lights and Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak.
And what’s an occasional day of 60-below cold in a town removed from big-city ills?
“It’s Mayberry,” said Anderson high-school teacher Daryl Frisbie, whose social studies class explored ways to boost the town’s dwindling population. Students developed a Web site and Power Point presentation, then persuaded the City Council to give it a go.
“Are you tired of the hustle and bustle of the Lower 48, crime, poor schools, and the high cost of living?” the Web site asks. “Make your new home in the Last Frontier!”
The 1.3-acre lots will be awarded to the first people who apply for them and submit $500 refundable deposits beginning at 9 a.m. Monday. Each winning applicant must build a house measuring at least 1,000 square feet within two years. Power and phone hookups are already available.
City Clerk Nancy Hollis said people who apply in person or have someone stand in for them will have the best shot, since the post office doesn’t open until noon and deliveries are even later from the regional hub of Fairbanks, 75 miles away.
People seeking more information are calling from such places as California, Texas, Idaho and Florida.
Locals eyeing the sites include 15-year-old newcomer Brittney Warner, a student who worked on the project. The 10th-grader, her parents and three siblings moved to Anderson two months ago from Boise, Idaho, when her father got a job at nearby Clear Air Force Station.
Warner calls her new community “very nice, small, very outdoorsy” — a place that would be even better if it brought in some new businesses. Residents now have to drive at least 20 miles for gasoline or groceries.
Her family is now living in a rental home and planning to apply for one of the lots.
“We already have a house design,” she said.
Cory Furrow, a 26-year-old electrician, said he will be in line, too. Anderson has everything he enjoys — good terrain for snowshoeing and skiing, fishing, and hunting for moose and grizzly bears.
“I’ve lived here my whole life, so when free land comes up in my hometown, I can’t pass that up,” said Furrow, who lives in his family home.
Folks in Anderson say there are some job opportunities within driving distance, including a coal mine, a utility, major hotels and the air station, a ballistic missile early-warning site. Locals also would like to see entrepreneurs among the newcomers.
In addition, they are hoping for families. The high school basketball team had to go coed this year because there weren’t enough boys.
Among the other advantages of Anderson: no property taxes, state income taxes or sales tax, virtually no crime, and no traffic. There are magnificent summers with temperatures as high as 90 degrees and plenty of wide-open space.
“One of the resources that we have is land,” said Mayor Mike Pearson, a mechanic at the air station. “If this works out well, the city’s got lots more property.”
Do you think this is going to bring many people to live in Anderson, Alaska?

Here is How Canada Presented Free Land In Manitoba

If you read down the blog a bit you'll find free land in many Kansas towns, Alaska, The Dead SEa and many more. This article is interesting.



Why Buy Land When You Can Get It Free?

Through the settlement years, there were four major laws that made land available to settlers for free -- the Preemption Act of 1841, the Homestead Act of 1862, the Timber Culture Act of 1873, and the Kinkaid Act of 1904. But, other settlers bought and paid for land from the railroads. At the same time that a settler paid $15 in filing fees for a homestead, the railroads were charging around $800 for 160-acre farm. Why did they do that when they could have had land for free?
Cochran's Railroad construction (Burlington and Missouri River Railroad) Camp. West of Sargent, Custer County, Nebraska, 1889. Photo by Solomon Butcher.For one thing, the railroads had more to gain, so they advertised. The railroads were given public lands to capitalize construction and create markets. The federal government wanted private industry to build the transportation infrastructure into the west. Once the railroads had located and patented their land, they were very anxious to sell the land beside the tracks as quickly and profitably as possible. They wanted paying customers who would ship goods to markets and buy things from the urban retailers.
From the settler's perspective, the closer a farmer was to the railroad, the easier it was to ship crops and livestock to market. Land agents were hired by the railroads and sent to major cities in the East and to most northern and central European countries. Fliers flooded those cities extolling the virtues of land in the West and Nebraska in particular. If you were interested, the railroad would put you on a special land-seeking train, and if you decided to buy, the price of the train ticket would be applied to the price of the land.
By 1905, all of the Burlington's lands in Nebraska had been sold and paid for. The Union Pacific had only 12,307 acres remaining unsold in Nebraska by 1921. Together, the two companies had sold more than 7-million acres to private purchasers. That compared to over 9.6-million acres obtained free of charge under the Homestead Act. The railroads did not abandon settlers after they sold them the land. They supported agricultural improvement programs that would help make farmers more successful and in the process create markets for their transportation services. The more the farmers prospered the more the railroads prospered. And as they prospered, the railroads remained a dominating force in the politics, economy and history of Nebraska.

Where the Land Is Free
Sue McCabe couldn't wait to get her hands in the soil when she moved to Marquette, Kan., two years ago and settled on the first piece of land she's ever owned. She planted a vegetable garden, 30 rosebushes, 12 fruit trees and a row of sunflowers in her backyard and turned her half-acre homestead into a home.
"Sometimes you just have to go by faith," says McCabe, 49, who had never set foot in Kansas before moving from Lancaster, Pa., to Marquette to take advantage of the town's free land.
She and her husband, Paddy, 49, are among hundreds of modern-day homesteaders being lured to the Great Plains by the promise of free parcels of land in rural towns such as Marquette (pop. 542); Hendrum, Minn., (pop. 315); Chugwater, Wyo., (pop. 244); Crosby, N.D., (pop. 1,089) and Kenesaw, Neb. (pop. 873).
The McCabes decided to strike out and move west after seeing a television news story about Marquette's land giveaway. They filed an application online and handled all the arrangements by telephone and fax for building their 1,450-square-foot ranch house, which cost $80,000.
"Where we were, it was very crowded and very expensive," Sue says. "We never could have afforded a house."
Marquette and other towns are staking their hopes of survival on modern homesteaders like the McCabes and a land deal reminiscent of the nation's Homestead Act of 1862 that settled the frontier. That government-land giveaway awarded settlers 160 acres after they lived on and cultivated the land for five years. Modern landholders, too, must build a house and live in it. Although requirements differ in each town, all have the same goal of repopulating the community and keeping businesses and schools open.
In Marquette, "the school was the driving issue," says Mayor Steve Piper, the town's third-generation grocer. "We were going to lose it." He and five other business leaders formed the Marquette Development Co., bought 50 acres of farmland for $100,000, and divided it into 80 lots with streets and utilities. In November 2003, they offered the first 20 lots to people willing to build a house and live in it for at least a year.
Allan Lindfors, a city councilman and banker, can't stop smiling as he recounts what happened. "We thought if we could build 20 houses and bring in 10 children in 10 years, it would theoretically help," he says. "The first lots were gone within four months."
By last summer, Marquette had given away all 80 lots and begun developing 20 more acres. The town's population boomed by a third. "It's bigger than we ever anticipated," Lindfors adds.
Also surprising, he says, is that prospective newcomers aren't deterred by the scarcity of jobs in town. "We explain that you may have to drive 30 miles to Salina or 70 miles to Wichita, but that isn't a problem."
The McCabes, both nurses, didn't have work lined up before moving, but both found part-time jobs within three weeks. Paddy landed a full-time position within six months at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility 40 miles away. Sue, who also is a hairdresser, converted a room of their new house into the town's only hair salon and keeps busy with $8 shampoos and sets.
The former urban dwellers say they've adjusted to the rhythm of small-town life where the Marquette Farmers State Bank locks up for lunch at noon and the only grocery store, Piper's Fine Foods, closes at 6 p.m.
"It's calmer here," Sue says, "and the people are so friendly. You have to wave in Kansas."
Small-town charm
The neighborliness also sweetened the free-land deal for the McCabes' neighbor Tammy Gladding, 35, a widow with two daughters who packed up and moved halfway across the country from San Bernardino, Calif., in 2004.
"I wanted a safer place for my kids," says the mother of Tara, 10, and Taylor, 12. Gladding's parents heard about the free land and the family drove to Marquette to check it out. All of them were impressed.
"This felt right the minute I saw the area," Gladding says. The small class sizes at Marquette Elementary School especially appealed to her; Tara's enrollment boosted the fourth-grade class to 10.
"The first week I moved here, the lady running the swimming pool asked me if I'd like to volunteer for the EMS service," Gladding says. She did, and plans to use her EMT training in a hospital job. "I knew more of these people in the first month than in 10 years of living in California."
Gladding works part time at City Sundries serving 65-cent corn dogs and 94-cent cherry phosphates at an old-fashioned marble soda fountain.
The small-town charm attracted her parents, Debi and Jeff Gruwell, of Riverside, Calif., who bought a 1920s-era house in Marquette last June and eventually may build on a free lot.
"It's not hustle-bustle," says Jeff, 57. "I could not believe the traffic. There isn't any."
Cash bonuses and incentives
Other Kansas communities are attracting newcomers with more than free land. Ellsworth County gives cash bonuses for children enrolled in the county's public schools, up to $3,000 per family, which is applied to the down payment for the home loan. In two years, 17 families with 36 children have taken advantage of the county's "Welcome Home Plan."
"We do require that they make a trip here first," says Anita Hoffhines, the county's economic development director, who gives tours to prospective homesteaders in the prairie towns of Wilson (pop. 799); Ellsworth (pop. 2,965), Holyrood (pop. 464), and Kanopolis (pop. 543).
"If they're moving from the city, they're giving up some amenities," Hoffhines says. "We don't have sushi bars or malls with 20 movie screens, but your kids can ride their bikes to the pool."
In Hendrum, Minn., which began offering free land in 1994, volunteers cleared dilapidated houses from tax-delinquent properties so the vacant lots could be given away.
Homesteader Tom Kristensen, 53, says his free lot in Hendrum gave him hope after suffering a stroke in 2003 and retiring early from his insurance job in Dallas. He built a 1,200-square-foot home for $70,000 and moved in last June. "It's cheaper than rent," he says.
In Chugwater, Wyo., "darn near free land" is available for $100 through the Chugwater Housing Incentive Program.
"We want to stay progressive and build up our housing stock," says Dixie Slider, the program's administrator. "All of our housing is about 50 years old."
Heather and Lawrence Garringer, tired of living in a Detroit suburb, staked their claim last summer for a building lot in Chugwater. Lawrence, 26, a construction worker, drew the plans for their 1,600-square-foot house. Heather, 25, stays home with Liam, 19 months, and Kaitlin, 5.
"I'm excited," Heather says as she packs to move 1,300 miles west to put down roots. "I hope the town grows with us."
That's exactly what Chugwater and the other homestead towns scattered across the Great Plains are counting on.

FREE LAND BY THE DEAD SEA
State offering free land by Dead Sea
In a bid to encourage Israelis to move to the south, the government is offering 140 residential units on the Dead Sea's coast for a very attractive price.
In a new community, to be called Neveh Zohar, 1/8 and 1/4 acre lots will be offered free of charge. Newcomers however will have to pay $42,000 to cover the costs of construction.
The construction company overseeing the project offers three housing models. Each housing unit will have two to three external cabins that can be rented to tourists.
The project is a few kilometers away from the Tamar local community and the Ein Bokek tourist beach.
Tamar Council head Dov Litvinov hopes the new community will boost Dead Sea tourism and open the door for the establishment of small businesses in the area.

The U. S. owns one-fifth of the U. S. Last week President Hoover was inclined to give half of this away to persons who apparently did not want it. His offer, in the name of Conservation, had strings to it.
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The public domain once consisted of all U. S. land outside the 13 original States and Texas. Free land was the great natural resource upon which the new country was built. For generations it served as a prime political issue. In 1836 Henry Clay, then a U. S. Senator from Kentucky, pointed with pride to "the prodigious sum of one billion and eighty million acres" of public domain (about one-half the present size of the U. S.). Prophetically he exclaimed: "Long after we shall cease to be agitated by the Tariff, the public lands will remain a subject of deep and enduring interest."
The Federal Government through the years had doled out its domain to its citizens to homestead, to the railroads to develop new territory, to prospectors to exploit. For the asking and a promise to live there homesteaders could, and still can, get 160 acres, stockmen 640 acres. In 1902 when most of the good farming land was gone the U. S. began reclaiming the desert by irrigation. Today some 600,000 persons cultivate 3,200,000 acres of land reclaimed at a cost of $182.000,000.
U. S. land has dwindled until now there remains only about 600,000 sq. mi. (U. S. square mileage: 2,973,000). Of this . amount 209,000 sq. mi. is in national forests, carefully conserved. Oil and mineral reserves take up 62,000 sq. mi., national parks, 11,700 sq. mi. There remain 302,000 sq. mi. of just plain common land, unreserved and unappropriated. It is fit only for cattle-grazing for which it has been used so hard that in a score of years it has deteriorated 50%. In another 20 years it will become worthless. Before that happens President Hoover wants to turn it back to the States in which it lies.
Three hundred thousand square miles is a lot of land. It is six times the size of New York State. It is bigger than Texas, Chile or Turkey. It is almost half the size of Mexico. It comprises 190,000,000 acres, enough for President Hoover to give one acre to every man, woman and child in the U.S. and still have enough left to do a wholesale real estate business. If it were worth $100 per acre-which it is not-its sale would wipe out the national debt. It lies in 16 "public land" States throughout the West. Nevada heads the list, with the U. S. owning 75% of its surface territory. Utah is next with 47% U. S. ownership and Wyoming third with 27%.
Last week the Governors of eleven Western States met at Salt Lake City. To them President Hoover sent Assistant Secretary of the Interior Joseph M. Dixon with a 2,000-word message, containing a proposal that these 302,000 sq. mi. be turned back, free, to States in which they lay. The President proposed the appointment of another commission (his ninth) to investigate the matter. But there were important reservations in the Hoover offer: The States would get only the "surface rights" to this land, the U. S. retaining the all-profitable mineral rights. Forest reserves, power sites, national parks et al. were to be held, as now, by the U. S.
Declared President Hoover in his message: "Our Western States have long since passed from their swaddling clothes and today are more competent to manage much of these affairs than is the Federal Government. Moreover we must seek every opportunity to retard the expansion of Federal bureaucracy and place our communities in control of their own destinies. . . . These suggestions are, of course, tentative pending investigation . . . but it is my desire to ... reduce Federal interference in affairs of essentially local interest and thereby increase the opportunity of the States to govern themselves and in all obtain better government. . . ."
The President admitted that the lands were not of much account,. that they brought the U. S. no revenue, that they were hard to administer from Washington. He suggested that the States might somehow use them to produce revenue for school purposes. Of course once back under State sovereignty the U. S. could not be expected to undertake an)' new irrigation projects to make them fertile.
The Governors at first were openly dubious. Said Utah's Governor George Henry Dern: "What looks at a distance like a fine large horse may turnout on closer inspection to be a white elephant." They slept on the idea. The next day they were in a more open frame of mind. Governor H.* Clarence Baldridge of Idaho, chairman of the conference, declared they ought to cooperate with the President through the investigational stage at least. He was applauded. The conference adopted a resolution endorsing the President's plan for an inquiry.
In Washington the Hoover proposal found no such courteous reception. Western Senators were openly hostile. Conflicting with the Governor of his State, Senator William Edgar Borah of Idaho declared: "The purpose of this proposal is to put off on the States something the Federal Government doesn't want. Well, we don't want their leavings. I can't get excited about skimmed milk. . . . Practically all lands that are worth anything have been taken up. These lands are on the mountain sides and in the desert where a jackrabbit can hardly get a living. The burden of administering them on the States would be heavy. I doubt if some of the States could stand it. ... The present system was adopted 25 years ago against our protest. We have adapted ourselves to it. Now we ask that it be continued."
Even Senator Reed Smoot of Utah, staunch friend of the Hoover administration though he is. could see no good in the President's plan. He complained that State administration on the surface and U. S. administration under the land would be more bureaucratic than the present system.
Said Senator John Benjamin Kendrick of Wyoming: "If President Hoover wishes to put local problems under local control, he should transfer the mineral rights as well as the surface rights to the States."
Professional conservationists throughout the land were quickly alarmed. Dean Henry Solon Graves of the Yale School of Forestry, who succeeded Gifford Pinchot as National Forester of the U. S. in 1910, bridled, refused to endorse. Eastern editorial writers, suddenly conscious of their part-ownership in this vast public territory, advised the President to move cautiously, warned him of the greed and rascality of Western politicians, deplored any break-up of the National Domain. An immediate connection was seen between President Hoover's policy on lands in the great open spaces and the great open questions of Prohibition. Wets hastened to point out that the President could just as effectively use the same arguments-the competence of local governments, communities in control of their own destinies, reduction of Federal interference-to support a modification of the Volstead Act whereby the States would handle their own liquor problem in their own way (see below).
*This H., like the D. in Owen D. Young stands for nothing. Mr. Baldridge adopted it in the belief that his parents did not give him a good name for politics.

http://bankofamerica.reo.com/search/ (B of A)

Here are some bank owned homes (REO) - thought you might like to see......


http://mortgage02.chase.com/alt/altdel/REOSearch.jsp (Chase)

http://www.reoexperts.net/ (Coldwell Banker)

http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp (Country Wide)

http://www.downeysavings.com/ffs/properties (Downey Savings)

http://www.banking.us.hsbc.com/HICServlet?cmd_PropertySearchDefault=cmd_PropertySearchDefault (HSBC)

http://www.premierereo.com/reo/consumerSvlt//nav/ConsumerNavL1.jsp/requestPage/consumer/PropertySearch.jsp (WFargo)

Awe inspiring..

Population (year 2000): 367. Estimated population in July 2006: 290 (-21.0% change)
Males: 234
(63.8%)
Females: 133
(36.2%)
Median resident age:
32.6 years
Alaska median age:
32.4 years
Zip codes: 99744.Estimated median household income in 2005: $58,300 (it was $58,750 in 2000)
Anderson
$58,300
Alaska: $56,234Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $86,500 (it was $75,000 in 2000)
Anderson $86,500
Alaska: $197,100
Anderson, AK Weather Forecast
6:15 AM ADT TUE JUL 10 2007
TODAY - Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers in the morning - then scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs 60 to 65. Variable winds less than 15 mph.
TONIGHT - Cloudy. Scattered thunderstorms in the evening - then scattered rain showers after midnight. Lows 45 to 50. North winds 15 to 20 mph.
WEDNESDAY - Cloudy with scattered rain showers. Isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs around 60. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT - Isolated thunderstorms in the evening. Cloudy with scattered rain showers. Lows around 45. East winds around 15 mph.
THURSDAY - Cloudy with scattered rain showers. Highs around 55. East winds around 15 mph.
THURSDAY NIGHT - Mostly cloudy. Lows near 45.
FRIDAY - Partly cloudy. Highs near 70.
FRIDAY NIGHT - Partly cloudy. Lows near 50.
SATURDAY - Mostly cloudy. Highs near 70.
SATURDAY NIGHT - Partly cloudy. Lows near 50.
SUNDAY - Partly cloudy. Highs near 70.
SUNDAY NIGHT - Partly cloudy. Lows near 50.
MONDAY - Partly cloudy. Highs near 70. && temperature / precipitation healy 64 48 62 / 40 50 40

People Flock to Grab Land Offered By Alaska Town
Monday, March 19, 2007


AP
March 19: David Noll, front, and his brother Jacob, check out their new 1.3-acre plot of land in Anderson, Alaska.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A town in Alaska's frozen interior that offered free land to anyone willing to put down roots had it all spoken for within hours Monday.
People dropped everything to fly or drive north, camping out in weather as cold as 25 below and dreaming of homes they would build amid the spruce and cottonwoods of the town of Anderson, population 300.
By Monday morning, 44 parties were waiting in line for a shot at the 26 large lots offered to the first people who applied and submitted $500 refundable deposits.
There were very few locals among them but plenty of people from other areas, including Oregon, Idaho, Florida, Wisconsin and Washington state.
"People are jacked," said Mayor Mike Pearson. "They're jubilant. It's like a mini festival."
And those are just the ones who hustled to show up after news broke about the giveaway, which requires that winning applicants build a house measuring at least 1,000 square feet within two years.
Jeremie Dufault, an attorney in Boise, Idahoo, who claimed one of the 1.3-acre lots for a summer home, talked a friend into claiming an adjacent lot so they could vacation together.
"This is a brilliant and innovative way to create a neighborhood because now we all know each other and we've been through this together," he said about waiting in line.
No. 26 was Ross Shoger of Portland Ore., who was on a 6 a.m. flight Saturday just hours after he heard about the offer. The 23-year-old flew to Fairbanks, then hitchhiked to Anderson, where he plans to do odd jobs to make a living in a town where most employment opportunities require some driving.
Those who failed to make the initial cut for the lots, including piles of applications expected this week in the mail, still have a chance because city officials gave the first 26 people in line a week to change their minds about making the commitment.
City phones were ringing nonstop all weekend and were still going strong Monday. Thousands of people called from all 50 states and other places, including Canada, Taiwan, India and South America, according to locals including Anderson high-school teacher Daryl Frisbie, whose social studies class developed the homesteading idea to boost the town's dwindling population.
Frisbie said his own residential phone has been ringing round the clock. Interest was high despite the brutal winters of the interior, where temperatures can plunge to 60 below. Never mind that there's no grocery store or gas station in Anderson, 75 miles from the regional hub of Fairbanks.
Callers from around the world were all focused on two words: free land.
"This is insane," Frisbie said. "It's more than I ever imagined."
Shoger, the 23-year-old who claimed the 26th lot, said he has a back-up plan.
"If this doesn't work out, I'll go to Europe," he said.

Their are reasons why many people have left the rural plains. Most of the good jobs continue to be concentrated in the cities in the plains region. Also, many young people move away from the rural areas because their is a lack of diversity, urban experiences, and jobs. Also, the weather in the Great Plains is not for the weak minded. Many rural counties have lost population for 100 years or more because too many people settled in rural areas with limited resources. Then, as manchinery, technology, and farm size increased, less labor was needed on the farms compared with earlier in the 20th century. Almost all of the younger people in states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas are centered around the urban areas.

Yes, their are some people that are self-employed and entrepreneurs but the majority of the higher paying jobs are almost always located in the larger urban areas of the plains. That is why Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis and Sioux Falls have strong economies. They were already larger cities to begin with, and they could easily draw people resources from all of the surrounding rural counties. The only counties in the rural plains that are gaining population are the ones that are regional centers that serve a large area. Regional centers would include:Hays, KansasNorth Platte, NebraskaAberdeen, South DakotaBismarck, North DakotaHastings, NebraskaMason City, IowaAlso the climate in the Dakotas south to Kansas is not really what I would call temperate. Sometimes, all four seasons can occur in a week time period. Winds are always quite strong, dust storms can occur when their is a drought, and blizzards can also happen. The extremes between heat and cold are what make the climate intolerable for quite a few people. The one advantage to this area is that if you have a good paying job the real estate is usually very cheap, and the schools are generally good in most smaller towns in the Great Plains.

Minessota is also included in this Free land thing. They are trying to build up certain parts of certain counties. A nice incentive I'd say!

Some links on homesteading.Kansas: http://www.kansasfreeland.com/North Dakota: http://www.prairieopportunity.com/Nebraska: http://www.curtis-ne.com/rollnhillsaddition.html
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Q:I heard about the free land offer in Anderson. Is it too late or is that opportunity still open? I will probably be moving back to Alaska anyway.

A:I think your a couple months late for the Anderson deal. But...being the nice guy that I am...I'm going to point you in this direction... http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/landsale/index.htm

The Mid-West is offering free land! To stem the exodus of its populations to cities, many small midwestern towns are offering incentives to folks who'd be willing to move there, according to this New York Times article, Empty House on the Prairie. As a fan of the Little House on the Prairie, I must admit I'm tempted. On my one visit to rural Nebraska, I was stuck by the beauty of the prairie landscape. And then there's this:
In some of these towns, a commute to work is four minutes; crime is all but nonexistent; at night you half-believe you can look toward the soundless sky and see the outskirts of heaven. And isolation, in our age of 500 channels, of easy Internet access and e-mail, does not mean the same thing it did to generations past.
Perhaps I'll load the covered wagon, hitch up the team, and hit the trail. When you next see me, I'll be running down a hill in my calico dress, my arms outstretched at my sides, my bonnet flapping in the wind.

http://www.chetopacity.org/page2.html

City of Chetopa
P.O. Box 203, 332 Maple
Chetopa , KS 67336
Pho. 620-236-7511 or 620-236-7541
Fax 620-236-7025
E-mail: chetopacity@kans.com

Spicebox gets Japanese Second Life residents free land
June 21, 2007 10:58 am
The Japanse Internet Business Consulting Company Spicebox is giving out 232 parcels of 1024² free land to Japanese Second Life residents who apply before June 26th. At this moment they have already 3 sims ready for this purpose but a total of 14 sims is planned upon. Spicebox is still a young company with 33 employees that for this Second Life adventure teamed up with Japanese online media advertising company D.A.Consortium.

To be applicable to receive a 234 prim parcel of 1024sqm meta-land - land tier payed by Spicebox - the Japanse residents need to supply their Second Life names and what they are planning to do with the land - some examples they give: a pub, a gallery, game development, fashion and skin stores, … - by e-mail. No real life information is needed. The parcels will not be appointed on a first come first serve base, but who gets them will be selected based upon the application forms. Land should be ‘handed over’ to the resisidents on the 27th, so the Japan 01 to Japan 09 sims are certainly something to keep an eye upon.



If I understand their ToS correctly the free land can be compared with free webspace with ad banners and advertisements will appear on the land. If I’m correct at this, I wonder how that is exactly going to work. Update: apparently I did understand correctly. More info soon.

Some details from their ToS: All parcels shall be PG area and - opposed to free web space - parcels that show no activity, only ads or serve only to TP to another location, they will be deleted. Also the parcels are for ‘private use’: no RL or SL companies can claim a parcel. RL company ads are a no-go too. All who speak Japanaese are enquiraged to apply, not only those who are from Japan. (red: this still leaves me out *grins*) There will be billboards on the sim and events shall be hosted regularely. They can end the service at any time, giving out a 1 month’s notice.

After the language troubles I had finding any information on those sims, I think I’m going to apply to set up a tourists office with English information on the sims there. ;)

For those who read Japanese, more information here.

Hat tip to Nock Forager.

PS. A very funny thing I did not know about until I looked at Spicebox’ portofolio is that apparently Knorr soup also sells in Japan.

Free land in the heartland

Small towns in Kansas, North Dakota and other states are rolling out the red carpet for newcomers.
December 23, 2004: 4:36 PM EST
Sarah Max, CNN/Money senior writer



(CNN/Money) – In June, Kimberly and Paul Bayless sold their house in Las Vegas and moved their family to the tiny town of Ellsworth, Kansas seeking a better quality of life - a parcel of free land didn't hurt either.

The family had been looking for an escape route out of the city, where their commutes were long and quality time was scarce, but didn't know how they could manage such a move. "Each year I felt more and more claustrophobic," said Kimberly.

Then, after Paul was downsized from his job as a software engineer, Kimberly read a newspaper article about free land in Kansas.

Ellsworth, population of 2,900, is one of many communities throughout the Great Plains looking to reverse decades of population decline by offering free parcels of land. Not only that, they're also giving down payment assistance, tax rebates, breaks for small business and even the promise of high-speed Internet access.

Although the federal government stopped giving away free land when it repealed the Homestead Act in 1976, cities, school districts, economic development groups and individuals in rural communities have been donating land for the cause.

In Ellsworth County, for example, there are 23 lots available for free to individuals, assuming they're pre-qualified to build a house that is at least 1,000 square feet and agree to build a house on the land within two years time.

In addition to the land, families with children stand to receive $1,500 to $3,000 toward a down payment when they buy in the area. "Each new child is worth an additional $6,000 to our school district from the state," said Anita Hoffhines, executive director of Ellsworth County Economic Development.

In nearby Marquette, 80 building lots became available for the taking in May, according to Carol Gould, director of the Kansas Center for Rural Initiatives at Kansas State University, and nearly half have been claimed. In Minneapolis, Kan., newcomers not only have dibs on free land, they qualify for a 75-percent rebate on city and school taxes for five years.

Some rural communities in North Dakota have similar incentives. New residents of Crosby, N.D., for example, are eligible for free land and a welcome package that includes free memberships to the golf club, hockey club and curling club, as well as $500 worth of gift certificates redeemable at local businesses.

These efforts may be paying off. According to Census statistics released this week, North Dakota's population between July 2003 and 2004 grew for the first time since 1996.


"Pitchfork fondue" in Medora, N.D.
Of course, city slickers need to look past the freebies and make sure they really do want to live in a small town.

Six months after their move, the Bayless family is happy with their decision. Kimberly substitute teaches and stays home with her youngest of four children, while Paul is enjoying a new career as a long-haul truck driver. "He's loving it," said Kimberly. "It's not the high stress of the computer field."

Still, the family has had to make some adjustments. "I sometimes forget that I can't just run out and buy anything I want any hour of the day," she said.

Calling all entrepreneurs
You don't need to become a truck driver to move to a small town.

At the same time rural communities are recruiting new homeowners, they are also going out of their way to attract entrepreneurs and telecommuters who, they think, can benefit from the low cost of living, tax incentives, skilled labor pool and the do-anything spirit of a small town.

"People out here are willing to try new things," said Hoffhines. "When you have fewer resources you have to be more creative."

When Shawn and Esther Oehlke decided to quit their day jobs in Albuquerque, N.M. to work on their start-up company, SEO Precision Inc., they found Northwest North Dakota. "We targeted five of the most rural states looking for business incentives," said Esther, who grew up in Long Island, NY. "North Dakota came out on top because of all of its tax incentives."

In August, the Oehlkes moved to the town of Crosby, population 1,200, and began leasing a 16,000-square-foot downtown building from the city for a "sweetheart of a deal."


The North Dakota State Fair in Minot.
The hundred-year-old mercantile building seems like an unlikely place for a company that makes precision steering mirrors for laser beams, but with the help of locals the Oehlkes have set up shop on the main floor and converted the basement into class-10,000 clean room. They live in two apartments on the second floor and have turned the rest of the upstairs into short-term rentals, which have been popular with people in town for business in the oil industry.

Under their lease agreement, the town will convert part of the main floor into a community tech center with 12 desktop computers with high-speed Internet.

"High-speed Internet is one of the ways small places are overcoming isolation," said Gould. "In North Central Kansas there is even a system of antennas on grain elevators and water towers for wireless Internet."

So you want to move to Kansas?
It should go without saying that if you're serious about quitting the city or suburbs for the simplicity of a small town, you'll want to make sure you can handle life without Starbucks and the multi Cineplex.

Meanwhile, you can get more information about free land and other small-town goodies online.

In Nebraska, 60-year-old sisters Betty Sayers and Nancy Herhahn are getting ready to send thousands of postcards to former residents of their hometown, Holdrege, in an effort to drive traffic to their site Business Beyond the Farm and, ultimately, persuade town alumni to move back.

Launched last week, KansasFreeLand.com has links to a handful of communities offering free land in Kansas.

Six counties in Northwestern North Dakota, meanwhile, have joined forces and launched the site, Prairie Opportunity with the tag line "Do you have what it takes to be a 21st Century pioneer?"

"Odds are, you are not a candidate for NW North Dakota," the site discloses.

On the off chance you are a candidate, have they got a deal for you.

Check These People Out if You Blog

Imagine The Possibilities

More Alaksa Free Land Tid Bits..

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A town in Alaska's frozen interior that offered free land to anyone willing to put down roots had it all spoken for within hours Monday.

People dropped everything to fly or drive north, camping out in weather as cold as 25 below and dreaming of homes they would build amid the spruce and cottonwoods of the town of Anderson, population 300.

By Monday morning, 44 parties were waiting in line for a shot at the 26 large lots offered to the first people who applied and submitted $500 refundable deposits.

There were very few locals among them but plenty of people from other areas, including Oregon, Idaho, Florida, Wisconsin and Washington state.

"People are jacked," said Mayor Mike Pearson. "They're jubilant. It's like a mini festival."

And those are just the ones who hustled to show up after news broke about the giveaway, which requires that winning applicants build a house measuring at least 1,000 square feet within two years.

Jeremie Dufault, an attorney in Boise, Idaho, who claimed one of the 1.3-acre lots for a summer home, talked a friend into claiming an adjacent lot so they could vacation togetherThis is a brilliant and innovative way to create a neighborhood because now we all know each other and we've been through this together," he said about waiting in line.

No. 26 was Ross Shoger of Portland Ore., who was on a 6 a.m. flight Saturday just hours after he heard about the offer. The 23-year-old flew to Fairbanks, then hitchhiked to Anderson, where he plans to do odd jobs to make a living in a town where most employment opportunities require some driving.

Those who failed to make the initial cut for the lots, including piles of applications expected this week in the mail, still have a chance because city officials gave the first 26 people in line a week to change their minds about making the commitment.

City phones were ringing nonstop all weekend and were still going strong Monday. Thousands of people called from all 50 states and other places, including Canada, Taiwan, India and South America, according to locals including Anderson high-school teacher Daryl Frisbie, whose social studies class developed the homesteading idea to boost the town's dwindling population.

Frisbie said his own residential phone has been ringing round the clock. Interest was high despite the brutal winters of the interior, where temperatures can plunge to 60 below. Never mind that there's no grocery store or gas station in Anderson, 75 miles from the regional hub of Fairbanks.

Callers from around the world were all focused on two words: free land.

"This is insane," Frisbie said. "It's more than I ever imagined."

Shoger, the 23-year-old who claimed the 26th lot, said he has a back-up plan.

"If this doesn't work out, I'll go to Europe," he said.

Nice Story On Free Alaskan Land

Want free land? Move to Anderson, Alaska
Alaska town, population 300, will award 26 lots to boost numbers

By RACHEL D'ORO
The Associated Press

Published: March 17th, 2007
Last Modified: March 17th, 2007 at 02:10 AM

enlarge


A tiny town in Alaska's Interior has no gas station, no grocery store or traffic lights, but it does have plenty of woodsy land -- and it's free to folks willing to put down roots there.

The community of Anderson, population 300, is offering 26 large lots on spruce-covered land beneath the Alaska pathway of the famed aurora borealis and just a short walk from spectacular views of Mount McKinley, North America's tallest mountain. And what's an occasional day of 60-below weather in a town removed from big-city ills?

"It's Mayberry," said local high school teacher Daryl Frisbie, whose social studies class came up with the idea for a project exploring ways to boost the town's dwindling population. Students developed a Web site and Powerpoint presentation, then persuaded the Anderson City Council to give it a go.

"Are you tired of the hustle and bustle of the Lower 48, crime, poor schools and the high cost of living?" the Web site asks. "Make your new home in the Last Frontier!"

The general rules: The 1.3-acre lots will be awarded to the first people who apply for them and submit $500 refundable deposits beginning at 9 a.m. Monday. Each winning applicant must build a house measuring at least 1,000 square feet within two years. Power and phone hookups are already available.

City Clerk Nancy Hollis said best shots at the offer will go to people who apply in person or have someone stand in for them. The post office doesn't open until noon and deliveries are even later from the regional urban hub of Fairbanks, 75 miles to the northeast.

City phones are ringing nonstop over the deal despite only local publicity. People seeking more information are calling mostly from Alaska, but Hollis also has heard from folks in California, Texas, Idaho and Florida.

"We expect people to camp out here Sunday night," she said.

Locals eyeing the sites include 15-year-old newcomer Brittney Warner, a student who worked on the project. The 10th-grader, her parents and three siblings moved to Anderson two months ago from Boise, Idaho, when her father got a job at nearby Clear Air Force Station.

Warner likes her new community, calling it "very nice, small, very outdoorsy," a place that would be even better if it grew enough to bring in some new businesses. Residents now drive at least 20 miles for gasoline or groceries.

Her family is living in a rental home and plans to apply for one of the lots.

"We already have a house design," she said.

Cory Furrow said he'll be in line too. The 26-year-old electrician grew up in Anderson and has no desire to ever leave. It has everything he enjoys -- good terrain for snowshoeing and skiing, fishing, hunting for moose and grizzly bears.

"I've lived here my whole life, so when free land comes up in my hometown, I can't pass that up," said Furrow, who lives in his family home.

Offering free land has been tried many times in the United States as a way to pump up declining populations and spark rural economies, including a growing number of Great Plains communities. Giveaways have been attempted with various degrees of success since the heyday of the 1862 federal Homestead Act, which turned over millions of public acres to private citizens.

Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's post-Depression-era New Deal, 203 hard-hit Midwestern families moved to Alaska's Matanuska Valley in 1935 to set up farms on free, fertile soil. The Matanuska Colony has been called an extravagant failure, costing more than five times the original $982,000 and abandoned by more than half of the colonists within five years, although supporters say publicity about the project lured scores north.

Another large giveaway was attempted in 1989 by northern Minnesota's Koochiching County, triggering a rush of calls from across the nation and as far away as Japan and Europe. Only two of the 40-acre homesteads were awarded before the offer was terminated the same year because of complaints from worried residents and other problems, including would-be landowners wanting only prime property such as waterfront lots.

The Anderson project was modeled after giveaways scattered across Kansas with some tweaks, like requiring the $500 deposit to attract only the most serious applicants. Some Kansas communities, such as Eureka, don't require any money down and have fielded hundreds of interested calls since the program began in 2005. But to this date, only three of the six available lots are spoken for in the town of 2,800, said spokeswoman Karen Simon.

"We were expecting a lot of interest," she said. "But the reality was that because of a lack of jobs, people don't want to come here."

The folks in Anderson said there are some employment opportunities within driving distance, including a coal mine, regional utility, major hotels and the air station, an early ballistic missile warning site. Locals also would like to see entrepreneurs among the newcomers. They also are hoping for families to bring more students to the school. The high school basketball team went coed this year because there weren't enough boys.

There are plenty of non-employment perks: no property, state income or sales taxes, virtually no crime, no traffic or local fast food stands. There are magnificent summers with temperatures as high as 90 degrees and plenty of wide open space.

"One of the resources that we have is land," said Mayor Mike Pearson, a mechanic at Clear. "If this works out well, the city's got lots more property."

Free Homes In So Cal

Free Houses You Move 6000 6004 And 6008 Carlton Way HOLLYWOOD Owner (323) 466-8204

No exactly land, but free homes -

Free Land Was Given Away Recently in Australia

The Great Bush Giveaways
Reporter: Bryan Seymour
The incentives include free land, no rates, big wages, massive discounts and easy living. As far as the bush is concerned there's no argument, you should just pack up and move.

Around the country, towns are digging deep 60 per cent of them face extinction it's revive or die.
Money talks and the workers are walking head long into the gold rush that is the mining boom in the North and West.

The Queensland mining towns of Emerald, Blackwater, Moura, Mackay and Gladstone and Perth mining towns like Leinster, Karatha, Port Headland and Paraburdoo are offering huge pay increases for skilled and unskilled workers to locate to remote areas of the state.Free accommodation and meals as well as free flights home are just some of the carrots businesses are dangling.

Forklift drivers, truckies and farm hands are being offered wages of up to $100 000 per year, while riggers and scaffolders are earning up to $40 an hour compared with the $16 an hour they earn in the cities.

Electrical engineers are being offered $160 000 a year, $60 000 more than their counterparts in the cities and if you're a project managers, offers are being made of $190 000 a year, $50 000 more than the city boys plus a four-bedroom house on the water, and fully maintained vehicle. That's a very large carrot indeed.

When the Queensland town of Jandowie found itself on the brink of extinction it came up with a novel idea to repopulate this once thriving hamlet, offer up blocks of land for the heavily discounted price of one dollar. In three years Jandowie recorded an increase of some 25 per cent and is arguably the fastest growing area in Australia, and the boom is showing no signs of slowing.

There are a number of country towns throughout Australia who are involved in either land giveaways or job drives. Avoca in Western Victoria claims to still have 100 jobs going and are raffling off land to interested parties. And the motor industry in Adelaide is scouring for skilled workes to return from the eastern states.

Free Land In Mankato (Central Kansas)

The City of Mankato, located in Jewell County in north central Kansas, is offering free lots for the construction of new homes. The Johnson addition housing lots will give people a chance to build a home and live in a small-town atmosphere.
Mankato is a city of just over 900 people in a county that has a population of around 3000 people. The major industry in the area is agriculture, health care, and outdoor hunting and fishing. Contact City of Mankato785-378-3141 Mankato@nckcn.com

More Free Land.....

Free land for building your log home
Obviously the easiest way to get land without paying cash for it is to inherit it, or receive it as a gift. Unfortunately those options aren't available to most of our members, so of course we discuss various methods of acquiring cheap or free land in our class.
Years ago, it was possible to get free land from the government through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Unfortunately that isn't true anymore, even though rumors about it still circulate on the Internet. There are lots of scams floating around where crooks will try and sell you a report or other instructions on how to get free BLM land, but you shouldn't waste your money on that sort of thing. Just read for yourself what the BLM has to say about it.
There are however still a few ways to get free or cheap land that we discuss in the seminar. For example, we've had students who have picked up free land by using mining claims and other loopholes to acquire excellent quality property. Another option is to trade for free land, which is probably much easier than you think, even if you have nothing to trade.
It is often possible to pick up dirt cheap land in rural areas from farmers or other land owners who are sick of paying the taxes on a large parcel. You can use this to your advantage when searching for good land on which to build your log home (most of our students want to build log homes in rural areas anyway). The biggest trick is finding those people and convincing them to give you some of their property for no money, or very cheaply.
If you are looking for land in rural areas, we recommend that you pick up a copy of the book, Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country By Les and Carol Scher. This is pretty much the bible for rural property buyers who need help locating and qualifying property for their dream home.
If you can't find free or cheap land in your area, consider moving somewhere else. We recently had a student in one of our classes that made his living by selling things on eBay. Unfortunately, he lived in a very expensive suburb of New York City and wanted to build a log home. He couldn't find any property that he could afford in that area, so he decided to pack up and move to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. He says that he found some good, reasonably-priced property there. He told us that he still makes the same amount of money from his eBay business, but his costs of living are roughly half what they were near New York City. This enabled his spouse to quit her job and start her own home-based business as well. They now live in a mortgage-free log home in one of the most beautiful areas of the country.
Fortunately, this gentleman had a supportive wife and children, so the move was easy for him. If you have a spouse or other loved ones who want to stay in your area, most of the time it is just a matter of figuring out how far out into the country you need to go in order to find affordable land.

Free Land In Coffey....

Free Land Criteria

An application must be filed with the City and a contract signed upon approval

Grantee shall construct or establish a single-family residence

The residence will be of new construction and placed on a full foundation

Construction must meet all zoning requirements; i.e. setback and density regulations

Minimum living space of 1,000 sq. ft.; 1,500 sq. ft. for locations west of Buckeye

No single wide mobile homes

$500 deposit paid to City - refunded at time of closing provided grantee has met all terms of agreement are completed

After completion of contract, property will be deeded to grantee at time of closing

Grantee responsible for any cost associated with preparing the lot for building

A complete application for a free lot must include a pre-approval letter from your lender or other evidence of financial means to construct your home.

Deadlines

Sign with a contractor within 6 months

Break ground within 12 months

Complete beneficial occupancy within 24 months



Back to top

ApplicationApplication is a pdf fileDownload and mail to City Clerk, P. O. Box 1629, Coffeyville, KS 67337 orfax to 620-252-6175

A Short Note From Michael

I thought I'd start this out by letting homesteader(s) share their thoughts after procuring land. The idea is very inviting, but the reality is obviously a bit more daring then most average people can manage. The reality is life must be tough for homesteaders. In Anderson Alaska it gets near 50 below O F. The free land in Kansas appears to be a better deal. Looks like their attempting to build a tax base. This has many different opportunities presenting itself - it depends on the perspective you approach this at. A town in Kansas; will give business and families unheard of opportunity. With high speed Internet, sate lite Internet etc..anything is possible. I would love to acquire as many acres as I can for future generations, after all isn't that what they did back in the wild wild west?

Author decides to homestead in Alaska and shares her experiences.

by Denise Caldwell
Of mud, bears, and freeland in Alaska
Under the provisions of Alaska's homesite program, a state resident can acquire title to five acres of rural land by "proving up" on the parcel—a process that involves residing on the property for a total of 35 months, building a house, and reimbursing the state for the cost of surveying the lot. Applicants are allowed five years in which to build their cabins, and seven years to satisfy the living requirements.It was March of 1982 when my husband, Ron, and I decided to take advantage of that seemingly generous offer. We've learned a lot since then, and because homesteading on "free" Alaska land has long been one of the Great American Dreams, I thought you might enjoy hearing about how that dream turned out for us.Our decision to accept the strenuous challenge of the Homesite Program stemmed from our desire to extricate ourselves and our children, Ronica (age eight) and Michael (three months), from the Anchorage rat race and see, for a change, some direct results from our labor. By way of preparation, we spent two years in planning, acquiring equipment, stockpiling supplies, and shoring up our courage. When time for the move drew near, Ron went on ahead of the rest of us to haul in supplies, supervise the bulldozer work we were having done, and set up our temporary living quarters: a pickup camper with a plywood addition.
The subdivision containing our sparsely timbered lot (and 217 others pretty much like it) is located approximately 100 miles north of Anchorage, on the perimeter of Mt. McKinley's vast river valley region, near the little town of Talkeetna. To reach our place, you must drive nearly five miles on a dirt road that branches off from the Talkeetna highway.Only 18 of our subdivision's 218 lots are under the Homesite Program; the remaining 200 were sold to the public and so carry no requirements for "proving up." Nonetheless, all property owners in the subdivision are required by state law to form and work within a community association in order to build and maintain roads and other common facilities within the area . . . which creates something of a communications problem, in that most of the 200 non-Homesite lots are absenteeowned. Consequently, our subdivision's roadways (and their three bridges) long remained unimproved.At first, our truck handled the marginal roads with aplomb, having to meet no more of a challenge than doordeep water and mud resulting from spring rains and the previous winter's melting snow. But as spring deepened into summer and the full force of the annual winter breakup washed over us, the ground gradually softened until our truck sank where it was parked. In all, the roads remained impassable for nine full weeks, forcing us to hike the five miles to the highway, then hitchhike to Anchorage to buy supplies, hitchhike back to our road, and make several tiring trips to pack the goods in by foot.Independence Day marked the reopening of our roads, and also brought us our first visitors. Ronica had not played with another child for three months, and so was a whirlwind of activity from the moment our guests and their children arrived. And Ron and I delighted in the smoked salmon, turkey, fresh fruit, and potato chips they brought along. But best of all, our friends—having anticipated our lack of "proper" bathing facilities—trucked in a 55-gallon steel drum, shower hosing, and a cast-iron bathtub. We elevated the drum on a foundation of cinder blocks, filled it with water, built a fire beneath, and let gravity move the heated water from the drum to the tub. It was heaven.But a few days later our guests were gone (and none too soon for their sake, since the three streams that cut our road flooded right after they left, washing out the embankments leading to the bridges), and it was back to work for the Caldwells.Our original plan had been to build a large log house on a sunny bluff that we'd had bulldozed clear of brush and timber. But things rarely go exactly as planned, and our sunny springtime bluff turned out to be a summertime sea of mud that even a network of laboriously hand-dug runoff ditches couldn't keep drained. It soon became obvious that we'd have to find a drier building site. And (to further complicate things) as we got into the slow, hard work of felling, limbing, and hauling in spruce trees (the largest of which was a 50-footer) for our future house, we realized that, at the rate we were going, we'd reach retirement age before we'd have a home.After thinking through the situation and the alternatives available to us, we down-scaled our plans to a modest frame house—which, we told ourselves, could be used as a guest cabin once we (someday!) got our nice big log home built. But in order to finance the materials we'd need to build that frame house, we'd have to return to Anchorage and work through the coming fall and winter.So, at summer's end, we reluctantly left our land and went back to the city, where we worked hard, saved hard, and spent our spare hours poring over carpentry books, drawing and redrawing house plans, estimating what the necessary tools and materials would cost, and visiting housing projects to gain a better understanding of the intricacies of frame construction. The following summer, after breakup, we were ready for our second go at proving up on our "free" Alaska land.With the help of a fellow Homesiter who was an experienced carpenter, we began construction by digging nine sixfoot-deep holes (down to a bedding of firm gravel) around a 20' X 24' perimeter. After sifting our creek's bed for sand to use in mixing concrete, we built up cinder block foundation piers to support a fully insulated, solid box floor. Balloon framing—utilizing twelve-foot-long 2 X 4 exterior wall studs—provided us with a roomy second floor plus a small attic space for storage.When the big day finally came and we moved out of the camper and into our warm, tightly built little house, we knew we had at last realized what had many, many times seemed to be an impossible dream. Furthermore, things continued to get better from there on: During the summer of 1983, our subdivision association finally got sufficiently organized to have our roads bulldozed down to a gravel base. Now—though winter access is still a problem—the roads are dependable enough that we're able to discontinue Ronica's statesponsored correspondence schooling and enroll her in a public school. (Unfortunately, our subdivision association's activities have since been put on legal hold pending majority approval of further projects, and therefore nothing more has been accomplished.)So we're now official Alaska free-land homesteaders. But the price we paid was tremendous. For one thing, the cost of proving up on our lot came to approximately half the parcel's current market value. There was never enough money to go around, so during the past three years we've become adept at piecing together our vehicles, our clothes, and our meals. ( I hadn't realized how distasteful Ronica found our diet of canned stew, peanut butter, and Tang until I found her—rock in one hand and fishnet in the other—trying to catch a squirrel for dinner.)But the highest cost of all was emotional: We were continually required to be strong, to tackle one problem after another, to keep going long after we thought we'd passed our breaking points. But for all of that, we still feel that the life we've bought with our hard work and sacrifice is more than worth the steep price we've paid. Our children are happy and independent, and wear the rosy blush of health on their cheeks. Ron and I have learned the value of mutual trust, faith, and teamwork, and know now that we can indeed turn a dream into reality.Today, when we sit beside our creek and listen to the sounds of the forest, we can't help but smile at our success in having earned title to a piece of Alaska's sometimes costly "free" land.

Free Land Information - Kansas

Choose a lot in Atwood, Herndon, or McDonald to build a home, it could be free!
Tired of the hustle and bustle, crime, poor schools and high cost of living. Make Rawlins County your new home and spend your free time at one of our area lakes, hunting, golfing, trap shooting, hiking, camping, attending your child's or grandchild's school event, driving in the countryside, eating Kansas steaks or just relaxing!
Most of you remember your hometown as a wonderful place in which you grew to adulthood. "YOU CAN STILL FIND THAT WONDERFUL PLACE!" Atwood, Herndon, and McDonald are offering a free lot to anyone willing to move their family to their community and build a new home! We are excited about your becoming a part of your community again. If you have a business you would like to relocate, or perhaps you are ready to be your own boss and start a business, we need you in Rawlins County. We would like to visit with you about business opportunities and incentives in Rawlins County.
Each of the communities in Rawlins County is also a wonderful place to retire! There are many retirees choosing to move to small rural communities. Retirees report they enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of "Small Town Living". They also report many have started small businesses they can now afford to own in our less expensive rural areas. Where else can you enjoy a cup of coffee at the local cafe, and everyone there is your friend?!!!!!
Qualifications for a free lot and property tax abatement on new home construction in Herndon or Atwood, Kansas:

Call 785.626.3640 to review application and qualifications.
Select a home builder and obtain financing approval.
Submit your new home construction plans and financing to RCED.
Begin construction within 6 months of approval of your house plans.
Construction must be completed within one year of approval of plans.
You must live in the home 5 years and pay property tax on the land.
Currently there are 4 - 110' X 130' lots available. Water and sewer lines are in the street and it is the owners responsibility to bring from the street to the building site.

Qualifications for a free lot and property tax abatement on new home construction in McDonald, Kansas:
Call 785.626.3640 to review application and qualifications.
Select a modular or new home builder.
Complete construction within one year.
You must live in the home 5 years and pay property tax on the land.

FREE LAND for your business too!

Find available jobs & business opportunities @ Rawlins County Job Bank

For more information, please contact:
Rawlins County Economic Development
Director, Chris Sramek
Email or 785-626-3640.

The City of Mankato, located in Jewell County in north central Kansas, is offering free lots for the construction of new homes. The Johnson addition housing lots will give people a chance to build a home and live in a small-town atmosphere.
Mankato is a city of just over 900 people in a county that has a population of around 3000 people. The major industry in the area is agriculture, health care, and outdoor hunting and fishing.

There are currently 26 lots available in the Johnson addition on a beautiful horseshoe shaped drive on the east side of the community. The lots are close to a high school, hospital, steak house, motel, and 1/2 mile from the shopping center of the community. All utilities are at or near the lots. There are no assessments against the lots at this time.

Requirements to obtain a free lot in the Johnson addition:
An application including personal information and home plans shall be filled out and submitted to the zoning board.
Applicant must be pre-approved for new home construction by a lending institution and be interviewed by the city council.
Applicant will have a written agreement with a contractor to begin to build a house within six months of acquiring the lot.
Construction shall be a single-family unit built on site or modular construction of all new materials complying with the most recent Uniform Building Codes and National Electric Codes, and will be completed within 2 years after receiving possession of the building lot.
New home will be a minimum of 1200 sq. ft. excluding basement, garage, and porches and have an overhang of at least 18 inches.

Welcome to Lincoln, Kansas... the city "the size of a dime with the heart of a dollar!"

Imagine a 720 square mile county with buffalo, farm animals and wildlife scattered across picturesque hillsides. Imagine that it has 3500 residents and no serious crime - but also local medical care, broadband internet and nine miles of Interstate 70.
It exists. Lincoln is its county seat.
This north-central Kansas town has worked since 2002 to create a fully improved subdivision. It has cost roughly two-thirds of a million dollars in local funding. In October 2004, the city council voted to give away the building sites to the first 21 qualified applicants who agree to build homes which comply with city requirements.
The subdivision is in the city limits, near a baseball field, the city park and the new junior-senior high school and athletic facilities. It is an easy walk to the industrial park and medical complex, and not far from either downtown or the golf course. A 45 minute drive takes you to a major regional center for shopping, medical services, colleges, air travel and entertainment.
New subdivision streets, curbs and gutters are finished and the lots are ready for construction. Home sites of various sizes and shapes are connected to two new cul-de-sacs. Underground utilities service each lot.
Local residents point with pride to other recent advances in their schools, quality-of-life amenities, public safety and recreation. For a small town, Lincoln has a surprising amount to offer the new families it wants to attract.
Lincoln's turreted limestone courthouse is on the National Registry of Historic Places. A hundred yards away, side by side, are the Lincoln Art Center with a boutique gift shop and permanent visual art collection and the Finch Theatre for films, meetings and occasional performing arts.
Local restaurants specialize, variously, in pizza, barbecue, and traditional Midwestern cooking. Three museums bookend the main street's primary shopping area.
The community continues to look forward. Some residents are pursuing a long-term dream of building a wellness center, complete with indoor swimming and other facilities, immediately adjacent to the new subdivision.
Lincoln's traditions date back to the 1870's - but its focus is on the future. Home site information is available from the city offices at 785-524-4280 and from the county economic development offices at 785-524-8954. City Hall ~ 153 W Lincoln Avenue - PO Box 126 ~ Lincoln, KS 67455 ~ Phone 785-524-4280

ALASKA!!

Free land in Alaska!!!
Anderson, a little town in Alaska's interior, has no gas station, no grocery store and no traffic lights, but it does have plenty of woodsy land -- and it's free to anyone willing to put down roots in the often-frozen ground. In a modern twist on the homesteading movement that populated the Plains in the 1800s, the community of 300 people

Alaska: Free Land Is Snapped Up in Hours

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 20, 2007
A town in Alaska’s frozen interior that offered free land to people willing to put down roots had it all spoken for within hours of its being offered. People from as far away as Florida traveled over the weekend to the town, Anderson, population 300, and camped out in weather as cold as 25 degrees below zero. In the morning, 44 parties were waiting in line for a shot at the 26 large lots offered to the first people who applied and submitted refundable deposits of $500. The winner of the 26th lot was Ross Shoger of Portland, Ore., who boarded a 6 a.m. flight on Saturday, just hours after he heard about the offer. Mr. Shoger, 23, flew to Fairbanks, then hitchhiked to Anderson, where he said he planned to do odd jobs to make a living. Those who failed to make the initial cut for the lots still have a chance because city officials gave the first 26 people in line a week to change their minds about making the commitment.

Free Land According Bureau Of Land Managment!

Am I entitled to free land from the BLM?

No. While that was true at one time, there is no free land.

What about homesteading?

Congress abolished homesteading in 1976 with passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which made it national policy to retain the public lands in Federal ownership. Today, the BLM manages the public lands for all Americans, who enjoy numerous benefits from these lands, including recreational opportunities, such as camping, hiking, hunting, and fishing.

I have seen an advertisement that says I can obtain low-cost land from the BLM. Is this true?

No. The BLM occasionally sells land - but only at fair market value, as required by law. The advertisement by private companies not associated with the Federal government may ask you to send in money for information about how to buy land for $1.25 an acre (or a similarly low figure). The BLM recommends that you read carefully any advertisement on this subject and be cautious about sending money. The BLM will provide you free and accurate information about land sales.

How does the BLM select land that might be sold?

Through its land-use planning process, the BLM identifies parcels of land for potential sale that fall into one of the following categories:
scattered and isolated tracts that are difficult or uneconomical to manage;
tracts acquired by the BLM for a specific purpose that are no longer needed for that purpose; or
land where disposal will serve important public objectives, such as community expansion and economic development.
However, the growing cities and towns of the West are spreading closer or even next to once-remote BLM-managed public lands. As a result, the public in general - and Westerners in particular - appreciate the open space guaranteed by BLM, which means that the agency considers its land sales even more carefully than in the past.

May I select a specific parcel of BLM-managed public land that I am interested in purchasing?

No. You may bid only for those parcels that the BLM has decided to sell on a competitive-bid basis.

Are there any lands for sale in the East?

No. Sales of BLM managed lands take place only in the Western States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.

Does the BLM sell buildings?

No. The General Services Administration administers the sale of all surplus Federal property.

I heard that I could get land if I have a mining claim. Is that true?

No. Although current law allows you to stake a mining claim on Federal lands that are open to mineral entry, beginning in 1994 and in each subsequent year, Congress declared a moratorium on applying for a mineral patent to a properly located and recorded mining claim. While this moratorium is in effect, the BLM cannot accept mineral patent applications. You may obtain further information on locating mining claims from any BLM State Office.

How can I get a copy of a land or mineral patent?

You may obtain microfilm copies of land and mineral patents from any BLM State Office Information Center at a cost of $1.10 per page. In addition, some land patent records are available for selected states on the BLM's Web site (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/).

How can I get additional information?

You should contact your local BLM office. You can obtain the address from the BLM's Web site or call 202-452-5125.